First Sunday after Pentecost
Service of the Word
May 30, 2021
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GATHERING
When we say God is the triune God, we are saying something about who God is beyond, before, and after the universe: that there is community within God. Our experience of this is reflected in Paul’s words today. When we pray to God as Jesus prayed to his Abba (an everyday, intimate parental address), the Spirit prays within us, creating between us and God the same relationship Jesus has with the one who sent him.
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WELCOME
Good morning, Nativity.
My name is Ron Zschoche and I will be your pastor this Sunday while Pr. Brent is on vacation visiting his family in South Carolina. When Pr. Brent learned that I would be retired from Messiah on May 23rd, he called to ask if I could fill in for him this coming Sunday "since you won't be doing anything anyway." He is nothing if not compassionate! He was also right and I was not doing anything anyway, which means we get to worship with one another this coming Sunday. I look forward to it.
This Sunday is important for at least two reasons:
It is Holy Trinity Sunday. (I will say more about the Trinity in my message)
It is also the Sunday when we as a nation set aside time to remember those who have gone before us, especially those who served in our armed forces, but including all our loved ones now passed away.
I want to thank all of you who have served to keep this country safe. As a pastor, I was never called upon to serve in the military - although maybe my work helps provide a safety of another kind. My exemption from military service only makes me more appreciative of those who did serve. Thank you and God's blessings to you.
Memorial Day also is a turning point in this country. Even though Summer does not officially begin for almost another month, we tend to think of this weekend as the beginning of the summer season. As the Covid numbers continue to go down, as the Cicadas' song grows louder each day, as we remember those who have sacrificed for us, as Messiah turns a final page and Nativity begins to turn to a new page, I pray this weekend is a point of turning for many things new and better.
God's blessings each of us.
Pr. Ron Zschoche
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THANKSGIVING FOR BAPTISM
All may make the sign of the cross, the sign marked at baptism, as the presiding minister begins.
Blessed be the holy Trinity, ☩ one God,
the God of manna,
the God of miracles,
the God of mercy.
Amen.
Drawn to Christ and seeking God’s abundance,
let us confess our sin.
Silence is kept for reflection.
God, our provider,
help us.
It is hard to believe there is enough to share.
We question your ways when they differ from the ways
of the world in which we live.
We turn to our own understanding
rather than trusting in you.
We take offense at your teachings and your ways.
Turn us again to you.
Where else can we turn?
Share with us the words of eternal life
and feed us for life in the world.
Amen.
Beloved people of God:
in Jesus, the manna from heaven,
you are fed and nourished.
By Jesus, the worker of miracles,
there is always more than enough.
Through Jesus, ☩ the bread of life,
you are shown God’s mercy:
you are forgiven and loved into abundant life.
Amen.
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GREETING
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all.
Amen
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PRAYER OF THE DAY
Almighty Creator and ever-living God: we worship your glory, eternal Three-in-One, and we praise your power, majestic One-in-Three. Keep us steadfast in this faith, defend us in all adversity, and bring us at last into your presence, where you live in endless joy and love, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
WORD
First Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8
This reading narrates Isaiah’s vision of the Lord surrounded by angels. They sing “Holy, holy, holy,” a song the church sings at the beginning of the great thanksgiving. This liturgical text invites the church and all creation to sing in praise of God’s glory. That glory is God’s mercy toward sinners.
1In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. 2Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. 3And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”
4The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. 5And I said: “Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”
6Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. 7The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: “Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.” 8Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I; send me!”
Word of God, word of life.
Thanks be to God.
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Psalm: Psalm 29
Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. (Ps. 29:2)
1Ascribe to the Lord, you gods,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2Ascribe to the Lord the glory due God’s name;
worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
3The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders;
the Lord is upon the mighty waters.
4The voice of the Lord is a powerful voice;
the voice of the Lord is a voice of splendor.
5The voice of the Lord breaks the cedar trees;
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon;
6the Lord makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
and Mount Hermon like a young wild ox.
7The voice of the Lord
bursts forth in lightning flashes.
8The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9The voice of the Lord makes the oak trees writhe and strips the forests bare.
And in the temple of the Lord all are crying, “Glory!”
10The Lord sits enthroned above the flood;
the Lord sits enthroned as king forevermore.
11O Lord, give strength to your people;
give them, O Lord, the blessings of peace.
Second Reading: Romans 8:12-17
In describing the new life of faith, Paul refers to all three persons of the Trinity: the Spirit leads us to recognize that we are children of God the Father and joint heirs with Christ the Son.
12Brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—13for if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
Word of God, word of life.
Thanks be to God.
Gospel Acclamation: Alleluia. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; God’s glory fills the whole earth. Alleluia. (Isa. 6:3)
The holy gospel according to John.
Glory to you, O Lord.
Gospel: John 3:1-17
Jesus’ miracles prompt Nicodemus to visit him in secrecy. Jesus tells him about being born of the Spirit and about the Son who has been sent by God to save.
1Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. 2He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” 3Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” 4Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?” 5Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. 6What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’ 8The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 9Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
11“Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony. 12If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 14And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
16“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
17“Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
The gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, O Christ.
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SERMON
In the name of God the Father, and of God the Son, and of God the Holy Spirit. Amen.
There are many things that we Christians do, think and say that help to define our faith to the world and to one another. Some of those things we share with other religions. Both the Jewish and Moslem faiths believe that God is creator, for example. And, there are some things that only we hold precious and dear. We are the only ones who claim that Jesus is the Son of God, and, if you are a Lutheran Christian, there is Lutefisk. But it is the doctrine of the Trinity that makes Christianity distinct from every other religion out there. We are the only ones who claim that central to our understanding of God is the claim that we have a God, who is three in one.
The Trinity is the foundation for all of the great Christian Creeds – The Apostles’, the Nicene and the Athanasian Creeds.
It is part of almost all of our prayers. The Prayer of the Day almost always ends with something like; “through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives with you [God the creator] and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever”.
Our invocations and benedictions usually remind us in some way that God is triune God.
We are Baptized, married and buried in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
We make the sign of the cross in the name of the Trinity.
We dedicate one Sunday every year just to the Holy Trinity.
The Trinity is unique to Christianity and defines how we understand and talk about God!
So, for today, I want to talk a bit about the Holy Trinity, and I am going to do it by talking a bit about myself. No, I am not a complete egotist. And yes, I hope introducing myself to you might help make a bit more understandable this doctrine which seems to contradict itself every time we say it. One in three and three in One.
Hello, I am Pastor Ron Zschoche.
You probably already know that Pr. Brent and I have known each other since our college days. He and I both grew up as Lutherans in the Missouri Synod. His father was a pastor and my grandfather was a pastor. As we studied for ministry, we both went to school at Concordia Senior College in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It was the school where men (remember! LC-MS!) went to prepare for their seminary training. We later both found ourselves at Seminex (Concordia Seminary in Exile) when a nasty fight and division took place in the Missouri Synod. Eventually, following very different paths, both of us became pastors in the ELCA and found ourselves forty years later serving next door to each other. Pr. Brent and I have become re-acquainted these past three years and have become good colleagues and friends.
My father was not a pastor. The grandfather I mentioned already was my first pastor who baptized me and mentored me toward becoming a pastor. My great-grandfather was not a pastor but his father also was one. Traugott Zschoche was one of the first to graduate from Concordia Seminary in the late 1840’s. It seems this pastor-thing has been an every other generation thing in my family. I wonder which one of my grandkids is doomed to become a pastor?
I am the oldest of five siblings. I am the only one who became a pastor. Like so many today, I am the only one of my siblings who goes to church very often.
Most of my career in the parish has been served out west. I served in Montana for about 24 years. All of my family grew up and lived in Oregon, so when I finally had the chance to serve there, I moved closer to family, where I served as a pastor, an Interim pastor and a Spiritual Care Provider for a local Hospice group.
In 2017 I made the move to retire. Because my only bio-daughter, her husband and their (my) twin (grand) children live in Clifton, VA, I made the move out here to be closer to them. I had only been here a couple months when the Synod asked me to take a 9 month to a year interim at Messiah. And, now, only 3½ years later I am retired once again. I hope my retirement this time lasts a little longer than the first retirement.
There is a little bit more about my life than what I just shared, but for now, you know a little bit about me and my professional journey.
OK, so why did I feel that I had to introduce myself to you this way?
The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is many things, and one of those things is God’s way of introducing himself to us. Like my introduction, God does not tell us everything there is to know, but God tells us enough so we have a basic understanding of who God is. Later, we might read the whole Bible to learn as much as possible about God. But, to begin, God introduces himself to us as the Trinity. With that in mind, let me introduce you to God.
(At Messiah I would sometimes offer what I call a "Zschoche paraphrase”. I am going to do that now as I put words into God’s mouth!)
Hello. I am God. You may know me as Father/Mother/Parent. I am almighty. I know everything about everyone who has, or ever will, live. I am eternal and I am not limited to time the way you are. I was, I am, I will be all at the same time. I am the one who created all that is and I have the power to un-create it.
(Kinda scary to have a God with that kind of power!)
Hello, I am God. You may know me as Jesus. Some of the names I use are Messiah, Lamb of God, Savior, Son of God. I am the one who became a human being so that everyone would know how much I love and cherish humankind. I know what it means to be you. I even died (which by definition, God cannot do) so that you would know I know what it means to be mortal. Because I am God, I was also able to rise from death and promise you a share in that resurrection. I am the absolute love side of God.
(the best friend kind of God!)
Hello, I am God. You may know me as the Holy Spirit/Sophia/Gift giver/Breath and fire of God. I am the one who continues to blow around creation. I am not off in heaven, I am right here among you to teach, comfort and empower you every day. My work is to constantly help you discover just how relevant and necessary God is. My greatest work and joy is to help you find faith.
(The always with us kind of God)
Obviously, there is more to God than this. But this is enough for you to know who God is and how God feels about you. This is enough to begin a lifetime – an eternal lifetime - relationship. Any important relationship will grow over time to become more than it was on the first day we were introduced. The same is true with our relationship with God. It starts with “I am God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.” It grows from there, and with faith, it will continue to where we “live and reign through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives with you [God the creator] and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever”
Amen.
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your heart and mind in + Christ Jesus our Lord.
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HYMN OF THE DAY ELW # 412 |
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NICENE CREED
We believe in one God,
the Father, the Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,
the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father,
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made,
of one Being with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the virgin Mary
and became truly human.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again
in accordance with the scriptures;
he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,*
who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
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PRAYERS OF INTERCESSION
Let us come before the triune God in prayer.
A brief silence.
We pray, O God, for your holy church around the world. Revitalize and renew us, that we may be reborn once again through the waters of baptism and the blowing wind of your Spirit. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We give you thanks for your power revealed to us in creation; for cedar and oak trees, for rushing waters, for the echoes of thunder. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We pray for the nations and our leaders, that led by your Spirit, they work towards a world where all of your children enjoy peace. We pray especially for (nations currently experiencing war or turmoil may be named). Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We pray for healing for all those who suffer, especially victims and survivors of trauma or violence. Give respite to those living with PTSD or any other mental health concerns. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We pray for this worshiping community (congregation/community may be named), that the splendor of your majesty and the holiness of your mystery may be glorified through our worship and our relationships with one another. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
Here other intercessions may be offered.
We give you thanks, O God, for those who have died in the faith (especially). We remember also those whose lives have been lost due to the horrors of war. Lord, in your mercy,
hear our prayer.
We lift our prayers to you, O God, trusting in your abiding grace.
Amen.
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PEACE
Call or text someone with whom you may ordinarily sit on Sundays, or a friend, family member, neighbor, or co-worker. Share the Peace of the Lord with them.
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OFFERING
Offer at this time to care for someone that may need you this week,,,and make a commitment to support Nativity in any way you are able.
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PRESENTATION OF GIFTS ELW 663 |
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PRAYER
Jesus, Bread of life,
you have set this table with your very self,
and called us to the feast of plenty.
Gather what has been sown among us,
and strengthen us in this meal.
Make us to be what we receive here,
your body for the life of the world.
Amen.
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LORD'S PRAYER
Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.
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BLESSING
The blessing of God,
who provides for us, feeds us, and journeys with us,
☩ be upon you now and forever.
Amen.
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DISMISSAL
Go in peace. You are the body of Christ.
Thanks be to God.
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NATIVITY LUTHERAN CHURCH
1300 COLLINGWOOD RD
ALEXANDRIA, VA 22301
Brent H. Thalacker, Pastor
Cell: 571-236-4976
bthalacker@cox.net
momwendel57@gmail.com
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